You wouldn’t ordinarily think of an eight-month pregnant woman as being a lively and dynamic public speaker, but several years ago I attended a conference where the keynote speaker was just that. Janine Driver http://www.lyintamer.com/ spent fifteen years in federal law enforcement and is a body language expert. Her bio states that she has “taught her cunning reading people skills to the ATF, FBI, CIA, DIA, International Association of Chiefs of Police, and to over 60,000 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, lawyers, judges.”
Let me make a recommendation: If you ever have the opportunity to attend one of her seminars, don’t hesitate for a moment. Janine has the unique ability to make an audience laugh so hard they can’t breathe, and then in the next moment she shares such a poignant personal story that if you don’t at least feel a lump in your throat, you had better check to make sure you have a pulse.
The story that meant the most to me wasn’t even about the topic of the seminar. Rather, it was about her mother Lorraine who died after a four year battle with cancer. I’m relying on my memory from several years ago, but this is what I recall. As her time grew shorter, knowing that she wanted to leave a final gift to her family and friends, Lorraine began gathering flat stones. She wrote short inspirational messages on them, each stone a different message. She put the completed stones in a large container, and at her memorial service, each person was invited to reach in and take one.
Somehow the message each person randomly chose was just the right message for that individual at that time. Janine said people ended up not wanting to leave the service; they kept sharing with others what their message meant to them. Wow. Feeling that lump in your throat yet?
We can pay tribute to Lorraine and her amazing legacy by remembering that none of us needs to wait any longer to share a positive message with others. We can do it right now, today, this moment.
To my readers: Tell us what message you shared and why.
